Economics

Economics Club Trip to New York City, Spring 2015

First year economics major, Rithika, is seen talking with students from her high school in Chennai, India about her academic experiences at Le Moyne and playing on the tennis team. (Note: click on the image to view full-size)

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Student Trip to New York City, Spring 2013

Economics is the study of individual and collective decisions that relate to the production, consumption, and exchange of goods and services. The economics curriculum contributes to a well-balanced liberal arts education by providing students with the fundamental economic concepts necessary to better understand the world around them. The economics major prepares students for entry-level careers in a variety of fields, including economics, business, law, education and government. The major is also valuable preparation for students planning to pursue advanced degrees in economics, business, public administration, law or related fields.

The Department of Economics offers both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Science degree. Both programs develop the conceptual frameworks and analytical skills necessary to critically evaluate economic outcomes, issues and policies. Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree reflect the liberal arts tradition of economics and include the study of a foreign language. Requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree reflect a business economics orientation and emphasize the development of quantitative skills.

Dr. Leonard E. Burman, a nationally recognized tax policy and public finance expert and the Moynihan Chair in Public Affairs at Maxwell School of Syracuse University, discussed the crisis of U.S. public debt. In addition to a careful assessment of this crisis, Dr. Burman offered short- and longterm strategies to address this catastrophic budget failure.

To begin, he quotes Will Rogers who suggested that, “If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”

Dr. Burman has testified before Congress twice in the past year. Formerly he was the director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center in Washington, D.C., deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis at the Department of the Treasury, and a senior analyst at the Congressional Budget Office.